LOS PEDROCHES. CORDOBA.

In the north of the province of Córdoba, right in the middle of the Sierra Morena, the peneplain of Los Pedroches opens up, the ancient pass between the Meseta, the plateau and the Guadalquivir Valley.

Unfortunately, today it is one of the most neglected areas of Andalusia. It is a landscape of gently rolling hills where sierra-style villages have been established, villages whose popular architecture reflects influences from Castile and Extremadura.

Their long, flat roads, sometimes paved so as to form geometric patterns, are lined with one- or two-storey houses, with facades of great plasticity broken by wooden doors with studded wickets, corner windows and the most characteristic feature of this area, large granite stones on jambs and lintels which contrast with the lime of the rest of the facade.

Occasionally, as in Añora, the entire house is built of stone, and the windows are barred with singular silver or white painted grills. The houses are covered by double pitch gables, from which long narrow chimneys emerge.

The finest examples may be seen in the village of Pedroche. Alongside the traditional houses of the area, the traveller will find other buildings of interest, also immersed in the field of popular architecture. These include "pósitos" or old granaries, such as the ones at Belalcázar and Dos Torres, and the old snow wells, which have almost completely disappeared.